Since officially drawing the Houston Rockets in the first round, Los Angeles Lakers fans have been trying to figure out how LA is going to pull off a series win without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves on the floor.
The Ringer's Zach Lowe has some ideas in that regard. Speaking with Kirk Goldsberry on Thursday, Lowe suggested that Lakers head coach JJ Redick could look to "junk this series up" by continually changing LA's coverages, thereby confusing the Rockets.
Lowe wondered if Redick will lean into his oft-used strategy of cycling between different defensive looks -- "zones, switches and double teams, half zones, hybrid zones, man-to-man here and there" -- to throw Houston's offense out of whack.
The Lakers might operate as a defensive chameleon to confuse Rockets
Lowe made good points about how the Rockets aren't a high-volume 3-point shooting team, and that they struggle immensely in crunch time -- both qualities that the Lakers and their "junk it up" defensive scheme could be well-prepared to exploit.
With news arriving Friday that Kevin Durant is nursing an injured knee, LA's defensive game plan could become even more effective, forcing Houston to squeeze scoring out of unexpected, unreliable options.
A Lakers series win would boost JJ Redick's reputation significantly
Everyone's been talking about how a first-round series win for the Lakers would add another badge of excellence to LeBron James' unattainable resumé, and rightfully so. LeBron will need to be superhuman for LA to pull off the unthinkable, and, to be frank, he's been superhuman many times before.
But a first-round victory for the Lakers would also make Redick look like a mastermind, especially if he's able to successfully implement the kind of junkyard chameleon defense that Lowe is talking about. The idea of Redick imposing himself on this series and outdueling Ime Udoka, leading a shorthanded Lakers roster into the next round? That would start to make the Pat Riley comparisons a little less ridiculous, I suppose.
Of course, defensive trickery alone won't win this series for Redick and his Lakers. They face a monstrous challenge on the glass, and it's one that they can't afford to lose by a wide margin (looking at you, Deandre Ayton). LA also has scoring concerns of its own without Luka and AR out there. LeBron will create open looks for Luke Kennard and Co., but will the Lakers be able to relax and knock enough down? That's a tall ask in an environment where adrenaline levels will be through the roof.
Add us as a preferred source on Google